REDMOND, Wash., June 10, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the promotion of Mary Snapp to vice president of Law and Corporate Affairs, reporting to incoming General Counsel Brad Smith.
“Mary’s legal acumen has won her the respect of her colleagues, Microsoft’s business groups and other top companies in the industry,” Smith said. “I’m excited about the opportunity we all have to call on her legal skill and dedication as we address new challenges and opportunities in the years ahead.”
Snapp will continue to serve as Microsoft’s deputy general counsel for product development and marketing. With Snapp in that role, her group will assume significant responsibility for ensuring Microsoft’s compliance under the new antitrust consent decree and for improving cross-group coordination on legal issues related to the company’s critical business priorities.
“Since joining Microsoft I have had the opportunity to work on a wide range of technology and legal issues as the company and the industry have evolved,” Snapp said. “I look forward to continuing to apply this experience as the company moves forward with great new products for our customers, and as it evolves as a responsible industry leader.”
Snapp has been a member of Microsoft’s Law and Corporate Affairs department
for nearly 14 years, most recently as deputy general counsel and associate general counsel, managing 160 personnel to provide broad-based legal support for Microsoft’s product development and marketing groups. Earlier, Snapp provided legal support to the U.S. Sales and Marketing division, the Microsoft Office division and the Developer Tools division, at a time when the company numbered 2,000 employees.
Before joining Microsoft, Snapp was in private practice at what is now Preston, Gates and Ellis in Seattle. Snapp received her juris doctor degree in 1984 from the University of Michigan Law School, where she was articles editor for the school’s Journal of International Law. She holds a master’s degree in business administration from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Kansas.
Snapp is a frequent speaker at both public and internal forums on legal issues related to topics such as intellectual property, privacy, and content copyright and licensing issues. She is a governing committee member of the American Bar Association Forum on Communications Law and is a frequent speaker and panelist at national gatherings of the forum. An active member of the community, Snapp currently serves on the board of directors of Food Lifeline, the Ryther Child Center and Artist Trust, and on the Advisory Board to the Shidler Center for Law, Commerce and Technology at the University of Washington.
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